Out of Sync
by dolce vita moderata
Summary: Because she was too late and he was too scared to take a chance. Three-Shot.
1. She was too late

**Summary**: Because she was too late and he was too scared to take a chance. Three-shot.

**Disclaimer: Naruto and all its characters used in this story do not belong to me. The song used below, "Possibility," does not belong to me either, it belongs to BoA & Daichi Miura.**

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(_High School is not meant for love._)

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[_**Possibility**_]

_The pendulum is still swaying,  
a thread which follows my last hope,  
why did it snap and break off? _

[_**BoA feat. **_三浦 大知]

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* * *

She was too late.

_Too_ late.

Now she will always be left thinking of the "what ifs" and "what could have been."

_Nothing had changed._

It would've been different this time. It wouldn't have been like her past one-sided, unrequited loves.

She thought this was it, but he was no different from the rest and she would never change.

She was _too_ late.

_And he continued walking forward, never looking back._

* * *

_**Out of Sync**_

* * *

"Here's your ticket S-Sakura-chan."

"Oh, thanks Hinata." Sakura bowed slightly as she received the movie ticket with both hands.

"S-shall we go inside?" A shy look was present on her delicate, pale face. Sakura nodded in response as she opened the door.

Many people were present, though it wasn't completely crowded. It seemed like a lot of people were still coming in to watch _Harry Potter_. The girls looked at the line as they made their way towards the concession stand as well.

"U-um, do you… uh want something? I can get u-us popcorn," Hinata asked as she stared at the popcorn machine.

"Sure, do you want me to come with you to get it?"

"O-oh! No it's fine," the black haired girl shook her head side to side.

"Why don't you save us a–a place on line?"

"That sounds like a good idea. Get the food quickly then, ne?" They waved a bit at each other as they went in different directions.

As Sakura was approaching the doors to theatre room #3, she couldn't help but feel like someone's eyes were on her. She looked to her left and surprisingly, she was right. A tall, skinny-looking boy was blatantly staring at her. He had dark black hair with bangs framing his face nicely, deep onyx eyes, a fair complexion, and an indifferent expression. His eyes were unblinking as he continued to stare at her. She looked back, eyes wide in surprise and mouth slightly ajar. Suddenly he cut the eye contact as he turned around to talk with some boys behind him.

"Well that was strange," Sakura whispered to herself as she tilted her head to the side.

"At least he was cute." She giggled into her hand thinking about what had just happened. After finally getting to the line, she looked back to see where the boy went. It seemed he walked with his friends to the concession stand. From where she was, she could see Hinata too ordering some popcorn now. Sakura turned back to face the line, there weren't a lot of people yet so the line was kind of small. Sighing in relief, she couldn't help but think what great luck she had.

After waiting for five more minutes, Hinata returned with a big bag of popcorn and a medium sized drink of soda. The line started to become longer as it became closer to the starting time of the movie. Soon, the line started to move and people began entering the theatre. As Sakura was walking towards the doors, she saw the boy from earlier. He was going to watch the same movie as her. As she passed him she gave a quick glance and then entered the dark room.

They ended up getting really good seats, right in the center of all the rows. As Sakura was watching other people enter, her eyes immediately caught sight of the dark headed boy. He ended up sitting near the front of the rows with his friends.

"Why do I keep on noticing him?" she mumbled to herself.

"Is s-something wrong Sakura-chan?" Sakura jumped in surprise in her seat.

"Oh, no its nothing Hinata. Please don't worry about me." Hinata smiled reluctantly as they both turned toward the screen to watch the previews. After about two hours, the movie was over and the lights started to come on again.

"Wahh, that was so good! As expected of _Harry Potter_." Sakura gave an approving nod.

"Y-yes, it was very good," Hinata nodded in agreement.

They exited the theatre and walked towards the concession stands.

"Sorry Sakura-chan, but p-please excuse me, I must use the r-restroom."

"Oh it's fine, I'll wait for you here." Sakura waved her hand while Hinata nodded and headed towards the restroom.

As Sakura was looking around she couldn't help but feel a stare on her again. She looked forward and it was the same boy from before. But once she caught sight of him staring he immediately turned around towards the exit of the movie theatre.

"What's up with him? This is getting quite strange," she said, contemplating his actions from before and now. She shrugged her shoulders as she continued to wait for Hinata. After her friend returned, they both walked towards the exit of the movie theatre. As Hinata took hold of the door handle, Sakura yelled in surprise, "He's still here?!"

Hinata had a curious expression as she looked outside to a group of boys near the door entrance.

"Who are y-you talking about S-Sakura-chan?"

"Huh? Oh, no one important. Ignore me," Sakura giggled out nervously as she scratched her cheek with her pointer finger. Hinata shrugged as they both exited. As soon as they came out, the group of boys stared at the two.

Sakura completely ignored them as she tugged Hinata along. They continued to walk down the sidewalk until the boys were out of their sight range.

"A-are you sure something isn't wrong? T-They all stared at you."

"Trust me Hinata, I don't know those people. They must be talking about my hair. I mean, it's pink! But seriously to stare as if I was some freak, how rude!"

"Yes, t-that's very rude," Hinata nodded.

"But I'm just going to ignore it. I mean it's not like I'll ever see _him_ again," she mumbled out.

"Him?" Hinata whispered to herself as she glanced at her pink-headed best friend.

* * *

"Sakura, hurry up or else I'm walking home without you."

"Can you hold on? I have to change my shoes," she sighed out. She took off her indoor school shoes and put them into the small locker. After changing shoes, she walked up to Ino who was impatiently tapping her foot on the ground.

"Yosh! Let's go! I want to stop by this really cute café before we go home."

"_Yare yare_, you're always making me spend money on food."

"Hey, at least it's good food!" They both laughed as they exited the school building. Sakura was soon distracted as she saw Gaara outside leaning against the tree with a book in hand.

"Gaara!" Sakura yelled out. He glanced up at her and stopped reading. Pausing for a moment, he gave a quick wave before looking down to continue the novel. Sakura waved back and continued walking with Ino.

"Eh?" Ino blurted out. Sakura looked at her friend who was staring quite hardly at the school gate entrance.

"What?" Sakura looked in the direction and her eyes became wide. It was the boy from the movie theatre! She held in a breath as she began examining him. He looked the same from before except he was wearing the same school uniform as them. It seemed he was leaning against the wall of the gates "pretending" to read a book. As soon as Sakura looked up into his eyes he snapped his book shut, grabbed his backpack, and left.

"Duck butt?" she whispered out.

"What?"

"I can't believe him! He stares at me for having pink hair when he has weird hair too! I mean, come on, look at it! It's a duck butt!" Ino rolled her eyes at Sakura's sudden rant. It was no surprise though, she did it quite often without realization.

"I seriously doubt he was staring at you because of your hair."

"Don't be ridiculous Ino. I know what he was doing. Gosh, the nerve of him! I mean, he did it at the movie theatre and now, here at school? I can't believe him," Sakura snarled. She crossed her arms in front of her chest as she let out a frustrated yell.

"It's actually quite obvious why he was staring at you. Ah, you're so dense sometimes."

"No I'm not! And don't even try me. I know what I saw and he was staring blatantly at my head. And the only thing to stare at is my hair!"

"You know, with such a big forehead to keep your big brain in, you're pretty stupid."

"Shut up Ino!" Ino started running away playfully as Sakura chased after her. Back on the school grounds you could hear Gaara give a sigh as he could now concentrate on reading. Those two girls always seemed to cause a ruckus after school.

* * *

"Ah, morning classes are finally over! _Yatta_! Lunch time!" shouted Ino as she brought her arms up in excitement.

"Let's go to the courtyard as usual then. It's nice outside," suggested Sakura as she took out her bento box from her desk. The classroom was filled with the chatter of other students, most people stayed inside their classrooms during lunchtime.

"Yeah, I don't want to eat in the classroom again." Sakura nodded at Ino. They both were about to leave the room, but stopped because Hinata was behind them.

"Eh? Hinata, your bento is so big!" She was holding up a rather large bento box that seemed like it was made for multiple people. Hinata blushed in embarrassment as her two friends stared at her wide-eyed.

"Ah, N-Neji-nii-san forgot his lunch so I have to b-bring it to his classroom."

"Do you want us to come with you?" Sakura asked.

"N-No. I'll be fine. Please go on ahead." Hinata gave a small smile as she left the classroom waving back at them.

"Okay, we'll see you there then!" Ino shouted back, waving her hand high in the air.

"_Ikimashou_!"

After going through the hallways and down a couple flights of stairs, they finally exited the building to the courtyard. A lot of other students were outside as well because it was such a nice day. The sun was shining brightly, though there were some clouds in the sky. They sat at their usual spot, which was under a large cherry blossom tree. It shaded the area nicely so that the hot beams from the sun's ray wouldn't glare on them.

"So I've been wondering for a while now," Ino started. Sakura raised an eyebrow signaling her to continue on with her thought.

"About that boy. You know the one that was staring at you before."

"What about him?" Sakura barked out. She wasn't that interested in talking about him.

"Let me just get straight to the point. He likes you," the blonde-haired girl pointed out bluntly.

"…"

"Sakura?"

"You're kidding me right?"

"Uh, no."

"Look, he doesn't, okay? I thought we went through this already." A small pout was starting to appear on the pinkette's pale face. Her eyebrows were scrunched up as she let out a huff in disdain.

"Fine, I'll prove it to you, look that way. But not so obviously, okay?" Sakura rolled her eyes as she glanced in the direction her friend told her to.

The dark headed boy was walking next to a girl she had class with last year, Tenten. It seemed both of them kept glancing in their direction. Then finally, the boy gestured at Sakura while saying something.

"He's talking about my hair you pig." Her eye started twitching as she looked at the pair on the other side of the courtyard.

"Forehead, forget about that. You know how I can read lips pretty well?"

"Uh, sure?" Sakura lifted an eyebrow as she looked suspiciously at Ino.

"Well, I think he said 'that's the girl.'"

"Yeah, that's the girl with the pink freaking hair!" Sakura pumped her fist in the air bearing her teeth.

"Are you still going on with this hair nonsense?" her blond-headed friend rolled her eyes. She sighed as she placed her head on her hand.

"Yes! Because it's pretty obvious he's talking about it." The pinkette nodded to herself as she folded her arms across her chest.

The two decided to secretly watch the brunette and the dark headed boy across the courtyard. It seemed like they were done talking as they walked together back into the school. As they entered, Hinata came outside. She approached them quickly as she sat down next to them under the cherry blossom trees.

"W-wasn't that the b-boy from the movies?" she asked, blinking her eyes in disbelief.

"Yeah, why?"

". . . Umm, well . . ." Hinata mumbled, placing a fist in front of her lips in deep thought.

"What is it Hinata?" Sakura looked at her dark headed friend curiously. Did something happen between them?

"I-I think he was b-blushing . . ."

". . ."

". . ."

"Hah, Forehead! I was right he has a thing for you!" Sakura let out a groan as she placed both her hands on of her face. She shook her head at the thought that a stranger could like _her_, she was nothing special. Not even realizing it, a deep blush covered her cheeks.

* * *

"Time to get some quality studying time at the library!" Sakura yawned as she stretched her arms up in the air. The pinkette and Hinata were climbing the stairs to the second floor where the library was located.

"I-I think I'll do a b-bit of reading," Hinata said thoughtfully.

After opening the sliding doors, the two entered into the room filled with bookcases and tables. As they made their way to an open table, Sakura noticed_ he_ was there.

"Oh great, just my luck," she mumbled to herself, shaking her head as she pulled out a chair and plopped down on it.

"I-I'll be l-looking at books t-then." The pink-headed girl nodded in return as she took out some books from her briefcase to study from. She was going to have a big English exam and didn't want to ruin her top ranking spot of getting the highest score in her class.

As she was studying, a couple of tables away she heard a lot of whispering. Out of curiosity, Sakura lifted up her head. There was duck butt and his friend. The girl across from him kept on glancing in her direction while whispering to the dark headed boy. A light blush grazed his cheeks as he looked down in embarrassment. He took out a pen and started writing something on his notebook. After, he slid it to the girl across from him to read. She read the notebook intently and giggled.

"What the heck are they talking about?" Sakura muttered to herself. She was pretty sure they were talking about her, but what could they be saying? She jumped in surprise as she saw the girl from the table jump up and point in her direction. The boy's eyes widened as he looked in Sakura's direction.

"She's right there!"

It seemed as though time had just stopped. Sakura didn't know why, but she couldn't stop staring into his deep black eyes. It wasn't until Hinata came to the table, did she break the eye contact.

"_D-daijobu,_ Sakura-chan?"

"Eh?"

"Your f-face is red."

"EH!?" Sakura started patting her cheeks in disbelief. What the heck just happened? She shyly glanced back to where the dark headed boy was. His face was hidden behind his arms as he laid his head down on the table. The girl across from him was laughing really hard.

What was this connection she just felt?

* * *

"Ino, I'm gonna go buy some melon bread before it runs out."

"Alright, if you can, buy me one too!"

Sakura raised a delicate pink eyebrow as she said, "You owe me . . . again."

"Just buy me my bread!"

Sakura shook her head laughing as she left the classroom. After going down two flights of stairs, she made her way to the cafeteria where the school was selling some food. There was already a large line, so Sakura got on, determined to buy the very popular melon bread.

Waiting on line was boring so she decided to find something interesting to look at. As she turned her head, _he_ was suddenly in her sight. He had money in his hand, so he was also probably going to buy something as well. Next to him were Tenten and Neji. They looked like they were having a deep conversation until Tenten stopped and looked in her direction. Sakura looked down at the ground as she felt several pairs of eyes staring at her.

A blush appeared on her face, though she hid it well behind her soft pink locks. The line was finally moving and Sakura was lucky enough to get the last melon bread. Sakura also bought a small coffee drink for Ino since there wasn't any bread left. As she left the line, she saw Hinata.

"Hi Hinata!"

"Oh, h-hello Sakura-chan," Hinata beamed back.

As they continued talking, using her peripheral view, she saw the dark headed boy to the left of them. Sneakily, she glanced to the left trying to be discrete as possible. He was talking to Tenten, well, more like Tenten was the one talking.

"Sasuke." The brown-headed bun girl nudged him as she moved her head in the pinkette's direction.

_Sasuke?_ So that was his name. A small smile formed on her face without her realization.

"Oh, well I better bring this back to Ino then. I'll see you later Hinata." Sakura bowed.

As she left, Sakura turned her head to see him one more time. He was looking back at her, a serious look on his face. Pausing a bit, she shook her head and continued on her way back to the classroom.

* * *

She was seeing him everywhere. He couldn't possibly have feelings for her, could he? And what was this warm bubbly feeling she had whenever she looked at him? Everything was becoming so confusing.

As she was in deep contemplation, Sakura was walking down the halls holding a big stack of papers. It was her turn to bring down the papers to the teacher's office. As she continued down the hall, a group of girls were on the side. It looked like they were gossiping about something. Though Sakura was not one for eavesdropping, she could not help but overhear the conversation as she was passing them.

"Did you hear? Sasuke actually went on a date with Karin."

"Really? That's a surprise. He doesn't seem like the type to say yes to these type of things."

"But the thing is, he did. She must be one special girl."

The girls nodded their heads agreeing on the last statement. Sakura paused for a second trying to process what she just heard. Did he really agree to go out with this Karin girl?

She whispered to herself, "But I thought—

She glanced back to the group of girls and looked to the ground in deep thought. Maybe she was overanalyzing everything. There was no way Sasuke would be interested in a girl like her. But it seemed like he was into her. The looks, the blushing, what could that all mean?

"Why am I getting so worked up over this?"

Sakura shook her head and continued walking to the teacher's office. This was the last thing she wanted on her mind right now.

* * *

"Why am I so depressed after hearing that? It has nothing to do with me. It's none of my business, yet . . ."

Sakura continued staring at the ground while her thoughts jumbled around in her head. Her eyebrows scrunched together as a deep frown started settling onto her face.

"Hey forehead! Why the sad look?"

"It's nothing."

" . . . So you heard about what happened." Ino stared at the pinkette, a serious look upon her fair face.

"W-what? I'm not upset over that."

"Oh come on, it's written all over your face."

"I-I, oh I just don't know Ino. I didn't know hearing something like this could affect me so much. I mean, I don't even know him, but after the library . . . and now this. I'm so confused."

Sakura laid her head on her desk trying to cover her sad face with her hair. She did not want Ino to see how upset she was. Being the subject of worry would just burden her and Sakura did not want that.

"I think it's pretty obvious how you feel."

"Eh?" With a confused look, Sakura sat up and stared at the blonde across from her.

"Think about it Sakura, why else would you be upset?"

" . . ."

"I mean, if I heard Kiba went out with some girl I would be upset too. I like him so much, how could I not to be affected? You know?"

"I-Ino you're mistaken, I—

Ino gave Sakura a hard look before the pinkette had a chance to continue. With a sigh, the blonde brought both her hands onto Sakura's shoulders. With a straight face, Ino looked Sakura straight in the eyes.

"Think about it. Seriously."

* * *

"So we're meeting up outside the classroom after school ends. We'll just decide then what to do."

"Alright, I'm excited. Maybe we should go do karaoke, it's been a while," Sakura giggled to her best friend.

After class ended, and Sakura and Ino got all their books to bring home, they waited outside of their classroom for Hinata.

"Hinata!" A big smile appeared on Sakura's face.

"S-Sakura-chan, I-Ino-chan. Hello," a small smile appeared on the girl's face.

After their friends arrival, Ino started blabbering about where they should go for their hang out. Meanwhile, Sakura got distracted as she saw Sasuke from across the hall. He was with Tenten again. Sakura did not want to make it obvious she was looking at them, so she positioned herself to look as if she was staring at Ino. In reality, she was really looking at the two of them. It was sneaky, but it came with very effective results. They were standing towards the back of Ino, so it was perfect.

As she was observing the pair, she noticed Tenten nudge Sasuke as she used her head to point in Sakura's direction. Sakura noted, this was becoming very common. In return, he raised an eyebrow at her incredulously as he shook his head. He briefly glanced in her direction while Sakura continued to pretend she was looking at Ino.

They started talking but since they were across the hall, Sakura could not hear what they were talking about. With a mischievous smile, Tenten tried to push him a little. Since he was so much taller then her, it did not really work. He then turned around, and it looked as if he was scolding her.

"Go talk to her." A whispered shout came from the bun-headed girl.

Sasuke glared at the girl for her rashness and sighed. With that the two started walking and while they passed Sakura's group, their pace slowed just a bit.

"Alright! Now that we have decided let's go."

"W-what? Oh yeah, um, let's go!" Sakura nodded, not knowing what she agreed on. Absentmindedly, she followed her friends towards the staircase.

The trio left in the opposite direction of Tenten and Sasuke. Sakura really wanted to look back at him, but decided against it. Secretly, she wished that he really did go talk to her. She wanted to know what he really felt for her. But it was too late for that now because she already left.

* * *

"Ino, I think I'm going to go talk to him," Sakura said randomly as they were walking home one day.

"Eh?" Ino stopped in her tracks, dumfounded by what she just heard.

"I mean, if he won't go talk to me, then I'm going to go talk to him."

"Are you serious?"

"I'm serious this time, I'm tired of waiting and I want something to happen. I don't want to sit back and later on regret not doing anything. At least with this, if I get rejected, at least I know I tried my best and I went for it."

"Then I'm with you 100%, it's about time you took the initiative," Ino smirked, pride filling her expression.

* * *

The next day after class ended, they decided to go to the library. Apparently, Sasuke went to the library a lot after school, so this would be the best chance Sakura would get in talking with him.

"You can do this," Ino encouraged the pinkette. They were about to enter the library.

"I can do it!"

"That's the spirit."

"I can't do this Ino. I'm leaving!" Sakura turned her body around and was about to run away when Ino grabbed her shoulder.

"Oh no you're not! You're going to do this and I won't let you leave until you do!" With a scared expression, Sakura nodded her head and reluctantly entered the library with the blonde.

"Sit here and I'll sit at this back table in view of you. It'll be easier for you to go up to him if you're by yourself, and he won't even notice that I'll be spying on you guys."

"Alright. Thanks Ino . . . I guess."

With a thumbs up to her friend, Ino went to the back table and pretended to busy herself with studying and homework. Sakura sighed as her heart started to beat furiously. This was the first time she would actually try and talk to a crush. In the past, Sakura would only look at them from a distance, but this time she was actually doing something about it. With newfound determination, Sakura waited for him patiently.

Five minutes turned to twenty, and then to an hour. Sakura looked out the window to see the sun was starting to set. She shook her head as she gather her belongings together to leave. She walked up to Ino's table and whispered, "Ino, let's go."

"S-Sakura . . . I—

"So what if he's not here today. He might be here tomorrow. Just because he doesn't show up today doesn't mean I'm giving up. I'm coming here everyday until he shows up because I'm going to talk to him and that's that."

"I'm really happy for you forehead."

"Thanks pig. I'm really happy that I'm doing this. Hopefully, everything turns out well, right?"

They both giggled as they left the library.

* * *

"Sakura-chan, can you go out to the store and get me some eggs?" her mother yelled from the kitchen. From the delicious smell invading her senses, Sakura could tell her mom was beginning to cook dinner. Her mouth savored at the thought of all the good food her mother would make.

"Sure! I'll be back in a bit." Sakura walked towards the entryway of the house, changing from her indoor shoes to her outdoor shoes, and then she was out the door.

"What a nice day to be outside!" She stretched her arms out, basking in the sun's setting rays. She hummed to herself as she held her hands at the back of her body. After 10 minutes of walking, she arrived at a small convenience store. The doors slid open automatically as she entered. She walked all the way to the back of the store where they kept the dairy products. After opening one of the freezers, she took out a pack of eggs and headed towards the cashier. After paying, she grabbed the bag and made her way out the door.

"Hm, I'll stop by the park before I got home," Sakura thought as she crossed the street to where the park was located. There weren't many people, though there were a few children playing on the playground. Sakura liked the swings the best as a child. As she was walking towards the swings, she saw a group of girls from her high school. Though the pinkette didn't mean to eavesdrop, it wasn't her fault since they were talking so loud.

"Aren't they so cute together?" One of the girls squealed as she jumped up and down.

"It's about time they made it official," Another girl nodded her head vigorously.

"I'm so happy for them!"

With a questioning stare, Sakura looked in the direction the group of girls was looking at.

_It couldn't be._

"Eh? Did you hear something?"

"Oh gross! Someone dropped eggs on the floor."

* * *

"Moshi moshi?"

"I-Ino . . ." Desperation was evident in her voice, but she didn't care. She needed to talk to someone.

"Sakura . . . are you okay? Why are you calling so late?"

"I'm not going to the library . . . ever."

"Sakura—

"H-he . . . he . . . Sasuke has a girlfriend now!"

". . ."

". . ."

"Oh god, Sakura . . . I'm so sorry!"

"No, I'm sorry for calling so late. I just needed to tell someone and—

A sob escaped Sakura's lips as tears started to pour from her eyes. It's been a while since Sakura cried this hard. She was trying so hard to be strong and to let Ino know what happened, but her crying prevented her from saying anything. Her chest was hurting and as she kneeled to the ground. She couldn't help but to cry even more.

"It's going to be alright Sakura. Believe me, please."

"I-I wish I could I-Ino."

* * *

"Sakura!" Ino ran up to Sakura and gave her a big hug.

"Thank you so much Ino." As they broke a part a regretful frown was on the blonde's face.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I mean there's nothing that I could do about it now. I guess I really did just over analyze everything." A sad smile appeared on the pinkette's face as she was trying hard not to cry again. She wanted Ino to know she was okay, even if she was breaking a part inside. More than anything, Sakura just needed to get through the day and learn to let go.

"I-It's all my fault. If I didn't say that he liked you and—

"I-Ino it's not your fault. I actually believed it too . . . so, let's just not talk about it anymore, okay? I just want to forget and move on because that's the only thing I could do now."

A few days had passed since the day at the park. Honestly, Sakura was not doing all right. Even though she had yet to see him, she could not prevent herself from thinking of what happened. But it was inevitable; she let her feelings grow too much even before she talked to the guy. A sigh of frustration left her mouth as she prepared herself for lunchtime.

"Sakura, do you want to go the courtyard to eat lunch?"

"No thanks, I think I'd rather stay inside the classroom. You can if you want though."

"No, it's fine, I can eat lunch inside the classroom."

"I'm just going to go buy a drink real quick, I'll be back." Sakura got out her wallet from her briefcase so she could go buy a drink. With a nod to Ino, she left the classroom.

As she entered the cafeteria, from the corner of her eye, she saw him. He was on line, probably going to buy something quick to eat. She took a deep breath in as she decided against looking at him. She went to the vending machine and quickly put in her money and pressed the buttons to get a small can of coffee.

After getting the drink, she quickly left the cafeteria without even sparing a glance in his direction. In order to get over him, she should no longer look at him anymore. He was taken, and there was no way in hell Sakura was a home wrecker.

As she started climbing up the stairs, she let out a deep breath she didn't know she was holding in. She thought she would be okay, but she was wrong. Even though she barely saw him, feelings of hurt started to swell up in her chest.

Although she promised herself she would not cry over him anymore, Sakura could not keep herself from breaking it.

"What am I doing with myself?" Sakura said to herself.

* * *

It was pathetic to be sulking though it had been weeks since the incident. She still couldn't get over the idea that he was taken. It was ironic though. The day she was going to take a chance on him, he got himself a girlfriend.

"Well don't I have rotten luck?" she laughed bitterly to herself as she stared at the homework in front of her. She was having difficulty focusing on tasks too. As she stretched her arms up in the air, she decided she needed a break, so she went to the kitchen.

Her parents were sitting at the table. It looked like they were in deep conversation because when she entered, they stopped talking.

"Perfect timing, Sakura-chan, we need to speak with you." Hesitantly, Sakura took a seat at the table across from her mother and father.

"Sakura, your mother and I have some important news to tell you."

"What is it?"

"I'm just going to get straight to the point. I'm getting transferred to Suna because the company is opening a new building there. They have appointed me to help get it started and look things over. This promotion is a big deal for me and I know you love it here in Konoha, but please try and understand that I have been waiting for this promotion for a while."

". . ."

"Sakura-chan," her mother said softly. Worry was evident on her face, and although Sakura hated the idea of moving, she would not go against the wishes of her parents. With a sigh, Sakura nodded her head.

"I understand _otou-san_. Congratulations, I'm really happy for you, honestly."

"That's a relief to hear, thank you."

"When are we leaving?"

"Well, since your school is ending soon, we'll be moving out after you have finished this semester. So the beginning of summer break, we will be moving to Suna."

"Alright, thanks for letting me know."

"I know you're sad, but it's not like you'll never see your friends again."

"I know _okaa-san_." Sakura got up and left the room.

"That's not what I'll be sad about anyway . . ."

* * *

Days passed and Sakura barely saw Sasuke anymore. She often avoided the places he would most likely be at because it would just remind her of everything that had happened. Though it had been a few weeks since she found out about his relationship, the stinging pain in her chest would not go away.

She then began to think that moving away would probably help with getting over him. The distance would be good for her; at least she would not have to bump into him at school. Though no matter how much it hurt, she had to be strong for herself.

The semester finally ended and Sakura, as usual, passed her finals with flying colors. She already had the transfer papers ready and mostly everything in her house was packed in boxes for her family's departure. It was the last day of the semester as well as the last day of her being in Konoha. As a "going away" gift, her friends decided to gather up outside of Konoha High to give a departing farewell after school ended.

"Stop crying pig."

"Well sorry, my best friend is leaving me for Suna!"

"Hinata, don't you start too."

"I-I-I'm s-s-s-sorry!"

"Guys, you're going to make my leaving really difficult. I want to leave with a smile. Please no tears." Sakura's eyes started to tear up as she looked at her crying friends. She was definitely going to miss seeing them everyday.

"I'm really going to miss you guys. Really, I can't thank you enough for all that you've done for me. I appreciate it so much. I'm so thankful that I have friends like you, I don't know what I would've done without you guys."

Sakura bowed to them in gratitude. As she stood up, Ino and Hinata flung themselves onto the pinkette as they embraced her.

"It's not like we're never going to see each other, so there's no need to thank us," Ino replied as tears ran down her face.

"T-this isn't g-goodbye."

"You're right. Besides, I'm only two hours away. We can still see each other on the weekends and during breaks."

"I-it won't be the s-same without you."

"I was really looking forward to senior year with you too . . ."

Sakura looked back towards the courtyard and she saw him. He was with Tenten and Neji, it looked like he was in deep conversation with them. No matter how much she wanted to look away, she couldn't. This would be the last time she would ever him. And then he turned his head and looked at her. For a second, her breath caught in her throat and she tensed up. For that one second, he was looking at her and she was looking at him.

It was just their moment.

And in that moment, all she wanted to do was run up to him, hold him, and tell him everything. Tell him that she liked him; tell him that she wanted to be with him; tell him that she didn't want to move away. She was so ready to do so as well.

But it ended as soon as it began.

Ino and the others called her over to take some pictures before she had to leave. Sakura quickly broke the eye contact and walked over to her friends, her eyes feeling a little watery. She tried her best to smile in the pictures, making sure it didn't show her real pain.

"We were never meant to be," Sakura laughed softly to herself. She then put on a fake smile as she accepted the presents from her friends and classmates.

As her friends bowed and gave their last goodbyes, she looked back one more time to the courtyard where he last was. He was no longer there. She looked down at the ground with tears flowing down her cheeks and a bittersweet smile thinking about the end of her chances.

Now all she could do was walk away.

* * *

_I hope you become very happy with her._

_Good-bye Sasuke-kun._

* * *

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[_**Possibility**_]

_Because I want it left behind as beautiful memories . . ._

[_**BoA feat. **_三浦 大知]

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**End**:(_High School is not meant for love._)

* * *

**Review please.**

~七転八起


	2. He missed his chance

I would like to thank **ResuscitatedHope**, **kasandraalive **and **golden doe** for the favs and story alerts for this fanfiction.

In addition, I would like to dedicate this chapter to **BROWNeyes **and **golden doe** for reviewing. Thank you guys so much, your reviews really gave me strength to write this next chapter. I hope you enjoy the continuation of this fanfic.

**Disclaimer: Naruto and all its characters used in this story do not belong to me. The song used below, "Possibility," does not belong to me either, it belongs to BoA & Daichi Miura.**

* * *

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(_High School is not meant for happy endings._)

* * *

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[_**Possibility**_]

_I saw a dream,  
we were always together  
for many birthdays piling,  
like it wouldn't break.  
Baby, now it won't come true, but it's  
Never gonna change my love_

[_**BoA feat. **_三浦 大知]

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* * *

This whole year he had gone by unnoticed, invisible, _unimportant_.

He really wanted to be part of her life, but what was holding him back?

_Rejection._

He was scared believe it or not. Rejection was just something he couldn't handle well. Not since he was a child and his father would continually deny him of attention. Not since his brother would go off, dismissing him from quality time spent together.

And certainly it wouldn't count now. Not by _her_.

Yet there he was, waiting for her to notice him. She didn't even know who he was, yet he knew all about her. It had always been a one-sided thing for him anyway.

_But she was different._

He never had hope in anything before, not until he saw her. Why was it that she was the only one that affected him? Why couldn't he let go just like all the other times?

All he wanted was for her to take notice of him.

Does she_ see _him at all? Does she even _recognize_ his face in the hallways?

No, probably not. He was just another face in the crowd. It was funny though because he could spot her anywhere, no matter how many people surrounded her.

He had missed so many opportunities to talk to her. He just couldn't take the risk. Even if it was her, he wouldn't take the chance.

His feelings may be different this time, but who he was… he would never be something he wasn't.

So he decided he would continue to watch from a distance.

_Because that's what he has always done._

* * *

_**Out of Sync**_

* * *

Run. That was the only thought going through his mind right now.

Keep running.

"Sasuke where are you going?"

"Matte! Sasuke!"

He ignored the calls as he turned back towards the courtyard. Even though he accepted that they would never be together, the look in her eyes today was different. He needed to know the truth behind that look. It was as if she was looking at him with a mix of regret, sadness, anger, and . . . love?

It couldn't end without him knowing for sure. He promised himself he wouldn't do this again, but when it came to her, none of it seemed to matter.

After running through the building and out the doors he finally arrived back to the courtyard where he last saw her. Looking at the place where she last was with her group of friends, he found it was completely empty.

She was gone.

Sasuke felt a pang in his chest as he continued to stare at the spot she last was. Even though he knew it would never work out for them, why was he feeling so much regret at this instance? It only added to the guilt as the last image he had of her was _that _look.

He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding in. So this was it. This was how it all ends.

"Sasuke daijobu-ka?" The bun-headed girl asked out of breath as she caught up to him.

The longhaired boy stopping beside her also questioned, "Why did you run off?"

". . ."

"Sasuke?"

"It's nothing, don't worry about it."

* * *

It was lunchtime and Sasuke and his best friend Tenten decided to eat at the courtyard. For the past couple of days ever since the movie incident, Sasuke had been giving clues to the bun-headed girl about his so called "crush." He was embarrassed to say the least that he didn't even know what her name was. Every time Tenten would bring it up, Sasuke would have no answer because he didn't know who the pinkette was.

Today was another countless day where Tenten would try and pry into his love life.

"So tell me the identity of this girl." Tenten looked at him as she rested her head against her hands. She raised an eyebrow expecting him to finally tell who this mystery girl was.

"No."

"Oh come on! I'm you're best friend, we're suppose to talk about these things. You told me about all the times you saw her yet you don't tell me her name? Stop being so secretive," Tenten scoffed. She hated how he would be secretive about things. She always had to beg and annoy him until he would admit defeat and tell her.

"No."

But it seems like he wasn't going to give in to her again.

"Why not? You're such a kill joy."

"Hn."

As Tenten began to pout, a pair of girls came into the courtyard talking quite animatedly with each other. One had blonde hair tied up into a ponytail while the other had pink hair that resembled the cherry blossom trees that surrounded them. Upon sight of the pinkette, Sasuke let out a small gasp. He was still embarrassed thinking about the time she had caught him staring at her in front of the school gates.

"Hello, Sasuke? Hey? Over here!"

"What is it?" Sasuke asked with an annoyed expression. He was trying hard to forget about those two embarrassing incidents but Tenten had to interrupt him.

"Oh my god."

"What?"

"It's one of those girls isn't it?" His eyes widened as he stared at Tenten. How could he be so stupid? He totally gave it away with all the staring and stuff.

He tried denying it by saying, "What? No!"

"It totally is! Just tell me already!"

Sasuke looked to the side not wanting Tenten to see his slightly blushing face. He decided that he would just tell her so she could shut up and finally leave him alone.

He sighed, "Fine, the girl with the pink hair . . . that's the girl."

"Oh my god Haruno Sakura?" Tenten stood up from her seat; an incredulous expression was present on her face.

"You know her?"

"I had a class with her last semester, why? Want me to hook you guys up?"

Sasuke shook his head, "Look that's not the problem."

"No the problem is that you're creepy."

"What?"

"Dude all the times she saw you, she caught you staring at her. She probably thinks you're a creep," Tenten chuckled to herself. She wanted to laugh so badly thinking about how badly he messed up. When it came to the opposite sex Sasuke was terrible at talking, approaching, and even being around them. The reason why she was the exception was because she was a childhood friend.

"No she doesn't."

"Uh yeah. Tell me, how creepy is it to walk past a group of people with all of them staring at you? Huh?"

" . . ."

"And how creepy is it to catch someone staring at you and have that said person run away cause they got caught? Huh?"

" . . ."

"See, it is creepy. Jeez, you finally show interest in a girl and you already lost your chances," Tenten shook her head in disappointment. She really loved teasing Sasuke, especially when it came to girls. So many girls had crushes on him, including some of her girl friends, but he was so oblivious. She rolled her eyes thinking of all the chances he could have had in actually having a girlfriend.

"Che. Whatever."

They both stood up from the bench and started walking towards the school. However, he couldn't help but to sneak a quick peak at Sakura. God she was cute. Though it was quite miniscule, another blush appeared on his pale cheeks. He tried to hide it but probably failed as Sakura's friend from the movie walked past them. She looked uncannily like Neji. So that was the cousin he was talking about earlier.

"Oh, I didn't know Neji's cousin was Sakura's friend. Now you have even more connections Sasuke. Me and Neji can hook you up with her." Tenten raised her eyebrows up suggestively.

"Oh shut up already."

* * *

Sasuke would always go to the library after school ended. It was just a quiet place where he could think, do homework, and not be bothered so much. Not a lot of people went there anyway, which he liked even more. However, Temari, another best friend of Tenten, decided to join him today and that meant no peace and quiet for him. They weren't really close, but they had a lot of classes together.

"Why do you always come here after school?"

"I don't know, to study?"

"Haha I love the sarcasm."

There conversation suddenly stopped when Sasuke noticed Temari staring to the right of them. Sasuke turned his head to look in that direction and lo and behold, Haruno Sakura was right there. Sasuke turned around quickly to glare at the dirty blonde sitting across from him.

"Temari, staring is considered rude."

"I wasn't staring, just looking." She smiled while twirling her pencil around with her fingers.

"Okay what did Tenten tell you?"

"Nothing. Just mentioned a certain cherry blossom." Her smile was almost comparable to the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland.

"God, I swear I can never trust that girl."

"Hey she didn't tell me, you're just way too obvious about it."

"What?"

Her voice suddenly raised in volume, "Well—

"Be quiet," Sasuke gave a whispered shout. A heavy blush appeared on his face as he looked down at the table in embarrassment. He sighed as he grabbed a notebook and pen and started writing. After, he slid the notebook across the table for the girl to read.

_Okay I like her. Just don't give it away. I'm planning to talk to her soon.  
_

Temari just giggled in response. She never thought she would see this side of Sasuke. Tenten was right about teasing Sasuke. It was definitely amusing.

"Why not talk to her now? I mean she's here. Wouldn't it be easier?"

"No, I can't when you're here. You'll stare at us and embarrass me."

" . . ."

"It's none of your business anyway."

Temari smirked in response. _Let's make things interesting then._ The dirty blonde suddenly stood up from the table, pointed her hand in the pinkette's direction, and barely shouted, "She's right there!"

The sudden outburst made Sasuke panic as he looked in the pinkette's direction. Her emerald green eyes looked upon him in curiosity. Even though it was so embarrassing, he couldn't look away. The color of her eyes was just too beautiful. He had never seen a color like it before. He didn't know how long they were staring at each other but it seemed like so long.

It wasn't until Neji's cousin arrive did their eye contact break a part. He couldn't explain the spark he felt right then. She looked at him. She actually noticed him. And they looked at each other. He looked up to the smirking blonde before him. He frowned.

"Oh god." A deeper blush appeared on his face as he laid his head on the table. He didn't want anyone to see him so he hid his face behind his arms. This was not what he wanted. Sakura probably thought he was a freak now. A creepy freak. Great.

Temari chuckled as she sat back down. She pulled out her phone and decided to email Tenten about the incident.

After Sakura and her friend left, Sasuke received an email message from Tenten.

"So movie tomorrow?"

Sasuke typed back, "Sure."

"Oh, can Karin come? I know she wants to see it too." Sasuke rolled his eyes. Not Karin. Now that he thought about it, Tenten was inviting Karin a lot to their hangouts. Sasuke sighed. Whatever, it wasn't like he cared that much anyway.

"Hn."

"I'll take that as a yes then." Sasuke closed his phone and decided to get back to his homework. He had to remember to never have another study session with Temari at the library again.

* * *

So after school ended the next day, he waited outside of the school building where the entrance gates were. It seemed strange that Tenten and Neji weren't there yet since they usually were early. It wasn't like they had any class duties after school anyway. He sighed, impatient as ever. Soon he heard voices approaching.

It was Karin with her group of lackeys following behind her. She had the biggest smile on her face and she was giggling with the girls behind her.

"Sorry guys I'm going on a date with Sasuke."

"Wait what?" Sasuke tried to question her about it but she just ignored him as she waved goodbye to her friends.

"I'll see you guys later!"

As soon as they left the raven headed boy turned to the redhead. He was not amused at all. Before saying anything his ringtone went off. He checked his phone and saw that it was an email message from Tenten. Sasuke cursed under his breath, out of all the times not to show up they chose this moment.

"Karin, this is not a date."

"Sorry they've been pestering me about going to this group blind date thing. I told them I already had a date to go to today and it just so happens that we are also hanging out."

"Hn."

"Besides it kind of is a date anyway. We're going to see a movie together which is totally what couples do alone."

"That's only because Tenten and Neji had to cancel."

"But you're still going with me despite that. You could have just told me you didn't want to go yet you didn't."

"Che. Whatever."

"Now let's hurry up so we can get good seats."

* * *

"You totally fail."

"What?"

Tenten called him for some homework help and somehow the topic got switched to talking about Sakura. Again.

"Honestly, I'm tired of having to listen and deal with all this crap. All you do is stare at her and yet you do nothing about it." Sasuke rolled his eyes at this. It wasn't his fault. It wasn't like he wanted to sit on the sidelines and do nothing. He just had no idea on how to approach the girl.

He scoffed in reply, "It's none of your business."

"Of course it is. You're my best friend! Instead of doing nothing, why don't you actually try talking to the girl. You had so many opportunities but you waste them because you're too much of a pansy to do anything about it."

"I can't okay? I want to but it's not that easy." He sighed.

"Let's make a deal then."

He raised an eyebrow. Tenten and deals never turned out good. Whenever Tenten resorted to making deals with him, it would always turn out in her favor. But, like the Uchiha he was, Sasuke would never back out from one of her "deals." Hey, maybe this time he would actually be the one in favor in the end.

"You have one more chance to talk to this girl. If you fail, you have to give up on Sakura and give Karin a chance. However, if you succeed, promise me you'll do your best to win Sakura over so you can stop being a wimp who sits on the sidelines."

"Are you serious?"

"Does it seem like I'm kidding?"

"Why Karin?" He refused to act like a child but when it came to Karin, sometimes he could be whiney.

"Isn't it obvious? She totally likes you."

"So what?"

"Instead of chasing after a girl that has no idea who you are, why don't you just look at what's right in front of you? Karin likes you and honestly, you guys are pretty compatible with each other."

Well that got him stumped. He never really thought about it like that, but just because Karin liked him doesn't mean he liked her. She was far from his type actually. Very far.

" . . ."

"Look you'll never know unless you try. That's why you either try talking to Sakura or you try giving Karin a chance. That's the deal and I won't take no for an answer."

"Whatever. If this shuts you up then fine."

"I'm holding you to it then."

* * *

"You completely missed your chance, again." The brunette laughed, amused over her friend's current situation.

"Urusai Tenten," Sasuke scoffed as he folded his arms in front of his chest. He was trying really hard not to pout because Uchihas never pout.

"She was right across the hall and you missed the opportunity to finally talk to her. You said you were going to but you blew it. You know what that means? You have to give up now."

"If you didn't give away the plan I would have done it. But you and your big mouth had to talk so loud." He glared at Tenten though it had no effect on her. After being friends with two ice cubes who glared at everyone and everything, she was practically immune to them.

"Hey I was whispering!"

"That was a whisper? That would have to be the loudest whisper I have ever heard then."

"Oh shut up Sasuke. But back to my point, a deal's a deal so now you have to move on." Things got serious as Tenten glanced cautiously at the boy. Although Sakura was a nice girl, Sasuke was too much of a wimp to do anything about it. It would be better to just forget about the pinkette and move on to someone who he actually has a chance with.

"What?" Sasuke looked at his best friend incredulously. Was she still going on about going out with Karin? He had nothing against Karin, when they hung out together he had little problems with her. The point was he liked Sakura, and although Karin was cute, she was not the girl that he wanted.

"Look, it doesn't look like she's interested. Why don't you just give Karin a chance? She's not bad. You didn't even complain that much when you guys hung out together."

" . . . "

First Tenten told him to try and talk to Sakura and now she says to give up? Yes they had an agreement, and yes he had several chances to talk with Sakura, but why was she pushing Karin on him? There was still plenty of time left to talk with Sakura; it wasn't like she was going anywhere. Sasuke rolled his eyes in annoyance. She probably promised Karin that she would hook them up since Tenten was close friends with the redhead. Of course Tenten would be biased about it.

"You could be great with Karin if you just give her a chance. Honestly, it doesn't look like you'll get anywhere with Sakura. You guys don't even know each other, plus you won't even take the initiative. So instead of brooding about your unrequited love, give love a chance with someone else, ne?"

"Che. Whatever." He started walking away no longer wanting to continue the conversation. Point blank, he found it useless. Tenten soon caught up and prevented him from moving forward as she stood before him. Sighing, she placed both her hands on his shoulders. With a serious look, she looked directly into his eyes.

"Just think about it Sasuke."

* * *

"Sasuke-kun!" The redhead waved animatedly towards her crush.

"Karin," Sasuke nodded in response.

"So Sasuke-kun, I was thinking we should go out again. Maybe to that new café that just opened a few blocks away from Konoha High. I heard the food was really good and it'll be a lot of fun hanging out again."

As Karin continued to babble, out of the corner of his eye he saw pink. Slightly glancing in that direction, he saw that it was Sakura. She was walking in their direction with a couple of books in her arms. She didn't seem to be paying any attention to anything besides the agenda book in her hands. She was probably going over what homework she had to do for tonight.

He decided at that very moment he would take Tenten up on that deal. He needed some sort of confirmation. He was getting anxious about the whole ordeal and just wanted some assurance that he actually had a chance with Sakura. A weird feeling started bubbling up in his chest. He decided that her next action would be what determines their fate.

He didn't know why these thoughts were coming to his head, but he was desperate. If she looked in his direction he won't give up. All she had to do was look at him. If she looked him in the eye, all these thoughts of moving on would be forgotten. He just needed some sort of sign; anything at all. She was soon approaching the pair as she continued reading what she had written down.

_Just look up. Look at me. LOOK AT ME!_

And with a blink of an eye, she swiftly walked passed him without even a glance up to see who it was. Once she passed, he looked back to see if maybe she noticed late and didn't want to be obvious about it. Maybe she was shy? But he was wrong. She continued walking and soon turned the corner out of sight, his presence did not affect her at all.

"So what do you say? Do you want to go with me Sasuke-kun?" Sasuke looked back at the redhead, a hopeful gleam in her eyes. Karin was the only girl who really took interest in him, who actually noticed him. Maybe he should just give her a try. Their supposed "first date" wasn't bad anyway; he sort of enjoyed it. She was a little annoying, but tolerable.

With a little bit of hesitation, he finally replied, " . . . Aa."

"Great! So I'll just send you an email later on this week and then next week we'll meet each other in front of the school gates and walk there together."

* * *

"Sasuke-kun?"

"Hn," he answered back not really paying attention. He couldn't stop thinking about what Tenten said the other week and then the incident where Sakura didn't look up. It was really annoying him.

" . . . I, I want to talk to you about something. I feel like this is the perfect time to bring it up."

Sasuke just nodded so it would seem like he actually cared about what she had to say.

"Hanging out with you for the past couple of weeks have been really fun! I hope you also enjoyed our time together as much as I have. I've thought about it a lot for the past couple of days, and I feel like its time to take action. Truthfully, I like you Sasuke-kun and I feel like me and you would be so good together,"

"So Sasuke-kun, please be my boyfriend!"

That no doubt caught his attention. _So it's the moment of truth_. It was either yes, Karin I will be your boyfriend, or no, Karin I don't like you, I like Sakura and if anyone is going to be my girlfriend it's her.

But he couldn't.

He already decided he would give up on the pinkette last week. It was finally time to move on.

" . . ."

"You don't have to answer me now, I know it's a lot to take in bu—

"Okay."

"W-What?"

"I'll be your boyfriend," he sighed.

"Really?"

He just nodded his head in response.

"You won't regret it, I promise," she smiled up at him.

* * *

"You want to stop by the park before we head home?"

She tried holding his hand but he wouldn't let her. Yes, he's giving Karin a chance but that doesn't mean he has to be touchy and affectionate. That was so not like him at all.

"Sorry."

"No it's fine, we'll take things slow."

They finally arrived at the park when Karin saw some of her friends from school. She ran over to them and started bragging how she finally snagged Sasuke and how she was no longer boyfriend-less. He rolled his eyes in annoyance. After a bunch of squealing and giggling, Karin finally waved good-bye to her friends and ran back to Sasuke.

His back was turned so he wasn't expecting the incoming embrace that Karin would force upon him. She grabbed his arm spun him around and hugged him like he was about to leave for the army or something.

Her face came close to his ear as she whispered, "I know you want to take things slow but I just want to show my friends I'm not lying. At least it's not a kiss right?"

He sighed once more as he closed his eyes and returned the hug. All that ended once he heard a scream from the trio of friends behind them.

"Oh gross! Someone dropped eggs on the floor."

He looked up and he swore he saw a flash of pink.

* * *

"Don't tell me you're still looking for her?" Tenten raised an eyebrow in suspicion. Ever since his supposed claim of Sakura seeing him with Karin, he had been paranoid.

"Hn."

"You're going out with Karin now, you have to forget about the girl."

"I know that okay?" Sasuke raised his voice. He didn't want to sound like he was getting defensive, but Tenten sure knew how to bring up topics he just didn't want to discuss. It was always the same thing with this girl. Why couldn't she just leave him alone? He already knew what he had to do and her reinforcement of it wasn't really helping.

"Sorry, it's just that Karin really likes you. I don't want you to hurt her."

"Look I'm going out with her because you told me it was a good idea to. These things take time Tenten, feelings aren't just going to magically appear and disappear just because I want them to."

"Alright, I understand . . . Thanks though, you really make Karin happy."

He just nodded in response. But what if he wasn't happy? Did she even care about that? He let out a breath of air.

* * *

He wasn't going to lie, he was afraid of seeing her. Word probably spread around and although he knew she probably couldn't care less, he still had hope. It was stupid of him, but feelings couldn't just vanish over night. Sakura was still the girl he had feelings for.

In some way to cope with this anxiety of being seen, he avoided going to places she would normally be around, especially if Karin was with him.

It wasn't like he was ashamed of Karin. He was just ashamed of himself. He didn't want Sakura to see that he was with someone else. What if she did take interest him? Would she be hurt if she saw him with another girl? Would she give up knowing that he was already taken? Sasuke shook his head. That would never happen. So there were a few times they made eye contact, so what? That was it; he had no basis or assurance that something could have started between them. They've only ever looked at each other.

But what if . . .

No. He couldn't afford to think like that anymore. Karin was his girlfriend now and he promised himself that he would forget about Sakura so that he could focus on Karin. But an aching pain was still present in his chest. He just wanted to see Sakura's reaction, only once to see that his assumptions were right; that there was nothing between them. But he knew he couldn't. Seeing her would make it harder for him to get over her.

If he really wanted things to work out with Karin, he needed to man up and forget about the girl who never really noticed him. This was the best decision, and who knows, he could end up really happy with Karin and even grow to love her.

Yet even though he already took the first step in moving on, why did he still want a beginning with Sakura?

* * *

So he was unnoticed once again. The first time in days, he sees the pinkette at the cafeteria. He decided to go buy some snacks that day for him and Karin. Now that he was going out with her, he wanted to do little things in appreciation for all the things he put her through. He wasn't the best boyfriend, didn't show much affection, but that was only because their relationship just started.

He never had a girlfriend before so he was new to the whole dating thing. But although that was only one factor in why he was hesitant, it was more so that he still had feelings for Sakura. So seeing her after not for about a few weeks was really strange.

He finally decided then that Sakura was not meant for him. From then onward, he tried his best to repress and destroy the feelings he once had.

* * *

After several weeks of not seeing Sakura again, he actually was able to forget about her a little. Now that he spent most of his time with Karin, it seemed she kept him busy. There was no time to think about Sakura when you already had a girlfriend who was the ideal girl to have.

Even though he wasn't completely happy, he was content with her. He found out that Karin really wasn't all that bad and that he actually liked spending time with her. It was already two months into their relationship and all was fine. Feelings started growing and although it wasn't exactly feelings of love, it was good enough for her. It really seemed like everything was turning out great. If only it lasted longer.

* * *

"Neji I'll meet up with you later I need to talk to Sasuke about something." With a nod from the longhaired boy, he left.

"Sasuke—

"Why did she have to look at me that way?" He was downright frustrated. The image of her sad face started clouding up his mind, almost hauntingly. This was not the image he wanted to remember her by.

"What?"

"I swore she looked at me as if she was heartbroken." His eyebrows were scrunched together. He was trying so hard to decipher the feelings behind that look.

" . . ."

"Once I actually forget about her, she has to be stupid and stare into my eyes and actually show some sign of reciprocation."

"Sasuke . . ."

"I'm so tired of this. I don't want to let her go if—

"You have to." Tenten gave him a stern look. There was no way he was going to throw away what he began with Karin.

"If this is about Karin, Tenten I can't do this anymo—

"I'm sorry Sasuke."

He looked at her, a puzzled expression evident on his pale face. She actually looked really sincere when apologizing, but why was she saying sorry?

"She's moving."

"What?"

"Not only was today the last day of school, but also her last day of living in Konoha."

" . . ."

"I'm sorry Sasuke."

"Why didn't you tell me this earlier?"

Tenten turned away and sighed. She wasn't actually planning to tell him this until maybe next semester, but he seemed so desperate.

"I only found out recently. Besides you're with Karin now, and you guys are doing so well. You forgot about Sakura too so I just figured you wouldn't even care if she moved away."

" . . ."

"Sasuke?" Tenten turned back around afraid she said the wrong thing. His dark bangs were covering his face so she couldn't tell if he was angry or not.

"I promised Karin I would meet up with her so I'll talk to you later."

" . . . Are you going to be alright?"

He sighed, " I don't know."

He walked away, hands in his pockets as he locked his eyes on the ground. He didn't want it to end like this; this was not what he had planned. He kicked a dirt rock and watched as it crumbled into pieces as it skipped across the ground.

_It's over. I never had a chance with her, and I never will have one._

* * *

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[_**Possibility**_]

_If it's not you, it's meaningless._

[_**BoA feat. **_三浦 大知]

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* * *

**End**:(_High School is not meant for happy endings._)

* * *

Sorry I got really lazy with this chapter. Anyway, The next chapter shall be the last chapter since this is a three-shot. Thanks for reading!

**Review please. Its encouraged as you can tell, look below. It only takes a few moments and honestly, I really just want to know your opinions.**

~七転八起


	3. Moving On

I would like to give a special shout out to **Tiger Priestess**, **UchihaJennifer**, and **Maxium** for the story alerts! Thanks guys!

I would also like to dedicate this last chapter to **Tiger Priestess**, **BROWNeyes**, **Maxium**, **golden doe**, and **トケイ **for reviewing Chapter 2. I'm really grateful for the reviews. I appreciate it so much that you guys took a few seconds out of your lives to write me a review. I can't thank you guys enough!

Anyway, I'm sorry for the late update, but please enjoy the final chapter of Out of Sync.

**Disclaimer: Naruto and all its characters used in this story do not belong to me. The song used below, "I WILL," does not belong to me either, it belongs to AZU.**

* * *

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(_High School is meant for growing up._)

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[_**I WILL**_]

_I won't expect anything further  
from you, tell myself I don't  
want a thing  
If I could dislike you, it would be  
easy, but my burning for you  
won't disappear_

[_**AZU**_]

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* * *

_**Out of Sync**_

* * *

"Ino, I don't know if I could do this," Sakura trailed off as she paced back and forth. Her eyebrows scrunched together at the thought of Ino's suggestion.

Ino waved her hand back and forth. "Trust me, you'll be fine. Just do it!"

"Well that's easy for you to say, actually doing it is much harder," the pinkette strained. She bit her lip just thinking about what would happen if she did it. What would _he_ think of her afterward? She shook her head at the thought. It scared her.

It was silent before Ino spoke. She stared intently at her best friend and said in a whispered tone, "Well you don't want to regret anymore of it do you?"

" . . ."

"Isn't it better to at least tell him instead of regretting it the rest of your life?"

Sakura looked out the window. The sun was setting; she didn't even realize how fast the day had passed. "I guess you're right . . ."

"I know I am. Just write the letter okay? And when I come to visit you again give it to me and I'll put it in his shoe locker before school ends, alright?"

". . ."

The blue-eyed best friend turned the pinkette around so they could face each other. With both hands on her shoulders, Ino stared straight into Sakura's eyes. "Okay Sakura?"

"Yeah . . . alright."

"Good! I'll see you in a couple of days then." The two best friends hugged each other before Ino's departure. After saying their goodbyes, Ino smiled at Sakura in a way to encourage her to write the letter. They both exited Sakura's new house and walked up to the gate.

"Ja ne." Ino waved as she walked down the sidewalk to the bus stop.

Once Sakura could no longer see the blonde, she walked back into her house. Sighing, she checked her phone to see what time it was. To her surprise she got an email message from Ino.

"You'll be fine," Sakura read aloud.

But will she?

Sakura placed her pink cell phone on her bedside table. After, she fell face first onto her bed as she screamed into her pillow.

It was time.

Ino was right. She thought hard about it and decided that writing the letter would be her best option. In order for her to move on, she needed to let him know how she felt or else she'll regret it. She didn't want to regret anything.

* * *

"Alright I can do this."

She took a deep breath in and exhaled. She bought some stationary and a nice pen just for the occasion. After placing a piece of stationary in front of her, she took the cap off the pen and held the pen in her hand. Everything went blank. What in the world was she suppose to write? 'Hey Sasuke I kind of love you. Bye.'

The hell….

"Maybe I should write a rough draft first before I write it on the stationary," she mumbled to herself. She took out one of her old notebooks to write her ideas in for the letter.

She spent all night writing and perfecting her rough draft. After finally coming up with the final draft, she carefully and slowly wrote it down onto the stationary. When she was finally done she read the note over, put it in the envelope, sealed the envelope, and left it on her desk.

She just wanted to sleep now. She'll worry about everything once it finally reaches him. But for now, her feelings were finally sealed.

* * *

_Dear Sasuke-san,_

_Thank you for taking the time to read this letter, I hope you read all of it. If you can, please read this alone. Before I begin, I just ask that you try not to contact me back. Just read this and then forget._

_Though it is very cowardly of me to do this through a letter, I could not do it before during the school year. I hope you don't think weird of me after I say this, but honestly, I use to like you. I know that we've never talked to each other so it's rather strange that I could like someone whom I don't even know well. I hope you don't think badly of me for that._

_But anyway, I just want you to know that you don't have to worry about anything. I already knew that I had no chance and since then, I've given up. Even though my feelings have ended I just thought it was important for you to know how I felt. _

_I apologize if this burdens you in anyway, but please don't think much about it. I do not feel the same anymore so you won't have to worry about me bothering you because this will be the first and last time that I will contact you._

_I hope you can forget about this soon because this isn't meant to be a big deal. It is something of the past._

_Thank you for taking the time to read this and please take care._

_~Haruno Sakura_

* * *

The letter fell to the floor. He leaned his head back against the shoe lockers as he closed his eyes. A knowing smirk appeared on his face. He clenched his fists. Turning around he slammed the sides of his fisted hands against the lockers.

After falling onto his knees he stared at the fallen letter on the floor.

_Why didn't I notice?_

* * *

"Sasuke-kun, what's wrong?" The dark headed boy looked up at the sound of his girlfriend's voice.

"Nothing Karin." _Everything Karin_.

Karin sighed as she sat next to her boyfriend. She grabbed his hand and held it with both of her hands. She softly brushed her thumb against the top of his hand and laid her head on his shoulder. "You've been acting strange lately . . . is everything alright?"

Sasuke sighed in frustration as he got up from his seat. He walked over towards the window to look at the sky. The sun was setting.

"Yeah, don't worry about it."

Karin stared at his back. She knew she shouldn't push it so she gave up. " . . . All right."

"I just need some time to think." Sasuke felt bad for making her worry, but he couldn't tell her about the note. She wouldn't understand. She would just get angry and overreact and start unnecessary drama. All he needed was some time alone to think.

The redhead nodded her head in response and got up. She walked over to Sasuke and hugged him from behind, "Okay, I'll see you later then. You'll call me later, ne?"

"Aa."

With that she left him alone to think.

* * *

Sasuke had nothing to do. He was laying on his bed in the dark trying to fall asleep because honestly, he had nothing else better to do, even if it was only 9:00 at night. The dark headed boy sighed in frustration as he turned his body to the side. He couldn't stop thinking about her now.

Sasuke decided he needed to talk to someone about it. Even though he wasn't the type to talk about his feelings, this was the exception. After picking up his phone, he scrolled through his contacts until he reached the person in mind. With that, he pressed on their name and held the phone to his ear.

Several rings later and they picked up.

"Hello?"

"Tenten."

"Oh hey Sasuke! What's up?"

_Oh nothing, just that Sakura liked me and we could have been together_ _and I wouldn't have had to give up on her, that's all. _"Nothing."

"So why are you calling?"

Sasuke closed his eyes for a moment. He was trying to calm himself down before he told her. "I needed to talk to someone."

There was a slight pause before she asked, "Is something wrong?"

"She did like me."

"… What?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. He hated having to repeat himself. "Sakura. She liked me."

Tenten let out a nervous laugh as she replied, "Sasuke I thought you were over that girl already? But wait, how would you even know this?"

"She wrote me a letter. I found it in my shoe locker after school. Her friend Ino must have put it there for her."

It was silent again, but this time slightly longer.

"…So what are you going to do?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

Sasuke scoffed, "She said not to contact her. Just to read it and then forget."

"Oh."

"Aa."

Another silence. It seemed like she didn't know how to respond to what he was telling her. He couldn't blame her though; he probably wouldn't know what to say if he was in her position.

"Sasuke?"

" . . ."

"Are you okay? Look I'm sorry if you're ups—

He sighed, "It's fine. I just needed to tell someone."

"… Are you mad?"

"At you? No. At myself…" He trailed off. Thinking about it clearly now made his heart hurt.

"Look, there's nothing you could do now. If it was meant to happen, don't you think something would have happened already?"

Somehow his voice got a little louder. "I know. I'm just angry with myself for not noticing. I mean what if I did notice. What if something did happen?"

"But that's the thing, nothing did. You can think of all the 'what ifs,' but nothing will happen from it. Listen, I'm sorry you didn't notice and again, I'm sorry for making you give up on her and go out with Karin. But that's all in the past now. Even though you say you have, you really need to move on Sasuke."

Silence. It seemed like there was so many of those during the past 15 minutes.

"I really am sorry though Sasuke, that it didn't work out. I feel like I'm a little at fault for it." With that tone Sasuke knew he couldn't blame her for everything. It really was his entire fault.

"No it's fine. I could have ignored you and did whatever I wanted, but I didn't. I guess this was how it's meant to be."

There was no use bringing up what had already been done. He would just have to live with the choices he had made because there was no way to change any of it. Besides, she was probably happy in Suna with some guy that actually deserved her. And him? He had a girlfriend that loved him so much. What more could he want?

* * *

**Several months later . . .**

* * *

Although at first it was hard adjusting to her new school, she was able to fit right in. She made many new friends and joined many clubs. Her favorite club, however, would have to be the art club. Even though Sakura never considered herself artistic, she loved painting and sketching.

One afternoon, she stayed a little late to try and finish one of the art pieces she started. It was her attempt to paint the sunset, but it didn't seem to be working out. Although she hated watercolor, she was trying her best on improving her technique and skills with it. It seemed though that the colors weren't blending in as she had hoped.

"I just can't get it right," she said dejectedly.

"Try using more water. You'll make fewer mistakes and will be able to fix it since the paint is watery and not thick. You can easily go over it."

The sound of another's voice surprised her. She turned around to face a very pale looking boy. A small gasp escaped her lips as she saw him clearly. He looked a little like the boy she was trying to forget. "Oh, um thank you . . ."

"Sai." The dark haired boy smiled at the pinkette. He pulled up a chair next to her and laid his sketchbook on his lap.

She slightly bowed in response, "Thank you Sai."

"Do you mind if I draw you? You don't have to stay still. I'm just practicing drawing figures."

"Oh, um, of course."

The two stayed silent as they continued on with their respective art pieces. It was nice being in someone's company and just drawing. Sakura smiled to herself as she took Sai's advice into consideration. The sunset was starting to look more like it should be.

From then on they would frequently meet with each other at art club to work on their artwork. And before she knew it, she was falling for him.

* * *

It was a Saturday afternoon and Ino was visiting. The weather turned from hot to cool to chilly. It seemed like the seasons were passing by quickly and soon the year was going to be over. The snow was falling slowly as the temperature continued to drop. The skies were gray and everything was covered in white.

Ino jumped onto her bed and yawned. She stretched out her arms then looked at the pinkette sitting at the desk. "So tell me about this guy you've been raving about over the phone."

A clear blush dusted Sakura's cheeks. "I don't know where to start."

Ino rolled her eyes in reply. She sighed, "Well, how about you tell me if you feel anything for the guy? Can you see yourself going anywhere with him?"

Sakura contemplated before replying. It wasn't that she was hesitant; she was just confused on how she felt right now. After the whole Sasuke ordeal, she was having a hard time opening her feelings to someone new. However, it seemed Sai was breaking all of that. She just wasn't sure if he was what she needed.

"… I think so. I mean, many misunderstand him and although he comes out as blunt, he really does care. He's trying his best, I could tell."

Ino nodded her head in approval, "Well that's a start. Now all you need to do is focus on this guy so you don't have to worry about Sasuke anymore and move on."

Sakura laughed awkwardly in reply, "…. Uh…. yeah."

Although almost half a year passed since then, hearing his name still hurt. Maybe because their ending was really painful. Sakura looked out the window, a bitter smile on her face as she started remembering all that had happened. It seemed like a memory so far away.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to bring him up." The blonde looked up towards the ceiling.

"No it's fine. I'm over that anyway."

An awkward silence fell upon the pair. Sakura wasn't sure if she should just break the ice and change the topic. Although this was her best friend, Sasuke was still a touchy subject for her. Before she could say anything, Ino decided to break the silence.

"Sakura I need to tell you something."

"What is it?"

Ino took a deep breath in before saying, "Sasuke did like you."

Another silence fell upon the two, however that was short-lived.

"You're kidding, right?"

"No I swear! I'm serious."

Sakura rolled her eyes to that. "Then why would he even go out with Karin?"

The blonde headed girl sat up and walked over to the window. "You can blame Tenten for that one."

Sakura scrunched her eyebrows together in confusion. "I don't understand."

"She gave him an ultimatum. Either he talks to you and he can continue pursuing you, or he doesn't talk to you and he has to go out with Karin." Ino glanced backward to see the pinkette's reaction.

Sakura finally understood everything.

"And he didn't talk to me . . ."

Ino spoke softly, "Pretty much."

"I should have just talked to him myself. But you want to know what's funny? When I was going to talk to him, he already gave up on me."

She laughed bitterly. Fate was just never on her side.

"Sakura . . ."

"It's fine though. I'm fine." She tried reassuring Ino, but it sounded more like she was trying to convince herself that she was okay.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Besides, I want to see where things head with Sai. Maybe there's something there."

Ino smiled at her best friend. "And I hope everything goes well with that. You know, I just want you to be happy."

"And I am Ino. You're here right now, and things are progressing with Sai, and I've finally adjusted to Suna."

The two smiled at each other and hugged. Although finding the truth was upsetting, Sakura felt relieved. Maybe this was what she needed to finally move on.

* * *

It seemed like fate that they would meet like this. But somehow it wasn't awkward or sad at all. This was what they both needed. Although it wasn't a happy ending, it was enough.

"It feels so weird being back here."

"Ah but I'm so happy you're here! Although I love Hinata, I miss my shopping buddy."

Ino then side hugged the pinkette. Sakura rolled her eyes in response but laughed.

"And I think it's so cute that you brought the 'BF' with you."

"Oh stop it Ino. You're just saying that because you're happy that we can now go on a double date."

"Aw you caught me!"

The two girls laughed as they continued walking around the mall. Sakura looked behind to see that Kiba and Sai were getting along fine. It seemed like carrying the girl's shopping bags was helping them to get to know each other.

"Ah let's go into that store. The jewelry there is so cute and who knows? Maybe we'll find some cute couple rings."

They both giggled at the thought. When she was about to enter the store something caught her eye.

"Um, you guys go ahead. I just want to see something real quick. I'll meet you inside."

* * *

"Ah I'm so hungry!"

"Well that's because someone woke up late and didn't eat breakfast."

"Oh shut it Neji."

Sasuke sighed. He didn't even want to go to the mall today. He glanced to the side to see Karin blabbering on about something she wanted to buy. He then went on to look at the pair in front to see that they were still bickering. He sighed again. This was going to be a long day.

"Hey why'd you stop all of a sudden?"

He looked to Tenten to see why she stopped suddenly.

"Karin come on line with me to get food. Neji you go find us a table."

"But what about Sasuke."

"Oh he can go with Neji, or wherever he wants."

As Tenten pulled the confused red head on line, she looked back at Sasuke and gestured her head to the side. With a confused expression on his face, he looked in the direction Tenten pointed to.

* * *

And then they saw each other.

* * *

At first they were silent just staring at each other. They were both taking in each other's appearance. It didn't seem as if either had changed so much during the past couple of months. But it was awkward. They've never officially talked in person, so what would they say? Despite the nervousness and the embarrassment, this was t_heir_ time. So it was now or never.

"Sak—

"Sas—

"Sakura-chan!"

"Sasuke-kun!"

_But fate was never for the two._

"Sakura what are you doing? I don't think I could stand being in the store alone with Ino and Kiba."

"Sasuke-kun, why are you just standing here? I thought you were going to find a table with Neji?"

_But somehow…._

"Aw, did you miss me? Well, I'll go back with you now. I think Ino and Kiba has tortured you enough."

"Hn."

The redhead rolled her eyes and smiled as she proceeded to drag Sasuke to the food court. On the other hand, Sai grabbed the pinkette's wrist and started pulling her in the direction of the jewelry store.

_… They were finally okay._

And it seemed they both knew that as they turned around to look back at each other. This was the closure they needed in the end.

* * *

_She smiled._

_He smirked._

* * *

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[_**I WILL**_]

_Goodbye..._

_I will carve our memories  
in my heart, so I can someday think  
that we were happy, I will_

[_**AZU**_]

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**End**:(_High School is meant for growing up._)

* * *

**Completed**: _**Out of Sync**_

* * *

_For the boy who wouldn't take a chance._

**Clarifications:**

1. **Why Sasuke and Karin**? Because Karin gets way too much hate. I actually love stories where Karin is friends with Sakura. I think she deserves to be portrayed differently than a bitch.

2. **Why didn't it end with Sasuke and Sakura?** I based this off of real life. That's right, REALITY. Not all endings end in a way that the two main characters are always going to end up together. There has to be stories where it's not always a happy ending. That's life.

3. **Why is it classified as Sasuke and Sakura then?** Because the whole story is about the two characters. Why would I put it as Sasuke and Karin or Sakura and Sai if Sai's and Karin's thoughts and actions weren't written as much as Sasuke and Sakura's. Besides they aren't the main characters in my plot, Sasuke and Sakura are.

4. I didn't think I would need to clarify these things, but to those who are angry and confused about my choices of characterizations and plot, here are my answers. If you want to criticize that's fine as long as its objective and an actual critique.

So on an end note, thanks for taking the time to read this fanfic!

**Reviews would be much appreciated.**

~七転八起


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